Beauty Queen Claims She Lost Her Title Over Six Pounds

Cynthia de la Vega, first runner up for Nuestra Belleza Mexico, claims she was stripped of her title after gaining a mere six pounds.Tras los Famosos (Telediario)

A Mexican beauty queen is crying foul after she was stripped of her title – and she claims it was because she put on a mere six pounds.

Last September, Cynthia de la Vega was first runner up for Nuestra Belleza Mexico, a position that normally goes on to compete in Miss World. (The contest's winner competes in Miss Universe.) A slightly more curvaceous de la Vega held a press conference last week claiming she was a victim of overzealous pageant organizers, who booted her for going a little heavy on the food and gaining a few pounds.

“I cried and cried and cried,” she told the show. The 19-year-old said all she wants is to represent her country. The pageant’s move disqualifies her from being a contender of the Miss World contest, which is in November.

But pageant officials say her removal had nothing to do with a chunkier de la Vega. Instead, they said, her title was stripped because she showed a lack of discipline and failed to meeting the ceremonial obligations of a well-behaved beauty queen.

“The training of a beauty queen is equivalent to the training of an athlete – there is no cutting corners on sleep, a zero tolerance for alcohol, and long hours of preparation,” Lupita Jones, Mexico’s first Miss Universe winner, who now heads Nuestra Belleza.

Keeping de la Vega “was a risk we couldn’t take,” Jones said.

De la Vega denies not fulfilling her obligations, and told Telediario’s "Tras los Famosos" television show that Jones portrayal of her was “not who I am.”

If de la Vega is right, it wouldn’t be the first time a beauty queen has lost her title over some extra calories.